-- You hear Astros color commentator Jim Deshaies remarking on the $10 can of Pringles in the Philadelphia hotel mini-bar, and can totally relate.

-- You tear up hearing the late Ron Santo's kids singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at Wrigley Field.

-- You run to tell your wife about Houston catcher Humberto Quintero, from his knees, throwing out Philadelphia's Shane Victorino on a steal attempt. You tell her it's the most exciting thing you've seen in a month. Like she cares.

The Angels' Cactus League game with the Chicago Cubs was called after 3 1/2 innings due to rain at Tempe Diablo Stadium Monday afternoon.

The Angels' starters were out of the game after one at-bat each, as a precautionary move. Torii Hunter had a two-run single in his one at-bat. Mark Trumbo returned to the lineup for the first time in four games and singled in his only at-bat.

Carlos Pena hit a three-run home run off Angels right-hander Francisco Rodriguez in the first inning. The Cubs were leading 7-4 at the top of the postponement.

The Angels will play a night game in Surprise against the Kansas City Royals Tuesday. Pitching prospect Tyler Chatwood will start for the Angels against the Royals with right-hander Dan Haren making his scheduled start at 1 p.m. in a minor-league game against the Chicago Cubs' Triple-A team at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

Angels starter Dan Haren looked sharp when he was on the mound Monday -- and only looked sharper after he left.

On a very blustery day in Mesa, Haren pitched three hitless innings, not even letting a ball out of the infield -- six groundball outs, one walk and three strikeouts (all consecutively after the walk).

The other 12 pitchers used by the Angels and Cubs combined to allow 27 runs on 37 hits (including seven doubles, a triple and three home runs) and seven walks (all by Angels relievers).

The Angels led 9-0 after the top of the fourth inning and 12-2 after the top of the sixth only to lose, 14-13, on Bryan LeHair's walkoff RBI single with two outs in the ninth.

Ex-Angel Tim Salmon returns to the team's spring training camp Tuesday in a new role -- color analyst.

Salmon will team with play-by-play man Terry Smith on the broadcast of Tuesday's Angels-Rangers game from Tempe Diabolo Stadium. The game will be simulcast on KLAA/830 AM, FSW and MLB Network (subject to blackout).

Salmon is expected to stay in the booth for all nine innings. This is the first of a handful of games during which Salmon is expected to join the broadcast crew while Jose Mota gets a break.

Today's game from HoHoKam Park in Mesa is only available on radio. The Angels will use the DH at the National League park. The Cubs won't.

Why do we love Chicago? Besides the fact there's a bar -- at least -- on every corner?

Because of stories like this one about the statue of Harry Caray outside Wrigley Field being vandalized.

No, the vandalism part isn't what makes Chicago great but rather the story's third paragraph, a paragraph we're jealous we didn't write. We'll share it with you now:

It's not the first time the bronze statue has been vandalized. Chicago police removed a dead goat carcass found hanging around it in October 2007.

Dead goats and baseball. Only in Chicago. Why don't the Angels have the sort of rich, ridiculous history that allows for animals to be sacrificed in the name of chasing a pennant? If they don't win another World Series until after the year 2100, maybe they will.

Playing the big-move-or-not waiting game with the Angels can be frustrating.

But at least the Angels didn't get involved in two of the bigger deals of the Winter Meetings, which involved two sluggers who batted .198 and .196 and combined to strike out 369 times in 2011.

The Angels need help at third base, but they didn't trade two relievers to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Mark "Big Air" Reynolds, the only man in baseball history to strike out 200 times in a season -- and he's done so each of the past three years, including 211 in '10 when he batted a career-low (by a long shot) .198.

First base is already occupied by Kendry Morales, so the Angels probably never thought of signing another Scott Boras client, Carlos Pena, to a one-year, $10 million contract -- a nice haul for a guy coming off a .196 campaign -- as the Chicago Cubs did Wednesday. Morales could've moved to corner OF or DH to make room for him in Anaheim, I'm sure, but we'll never know.

Both those lowly batting averages are undoubtedly what the stathead-inclined call outliers. And I like both those players, and, like their new clubs, expect them to bounce back strong in 2011. They're still high-risk, though.

Two free-agent signings already this morning, both involving first basemen and Chicago teams.

Carlos Pena and his .196 batting average will move from Tampa to the Cubs for one year and $10 million.

The Cubs' search for a first baseman had reportedly led to Texas where they discussed a deal for Chris Davis. Speculation was the Rangers would ask Michael Young to move to first base if that happened, clearing third base for a possible signing of free-agent third baseman Adrian Beltre.

That's dead now and rumors of trade discussions between the Rangers and Rockies regarding Young have also apparently died with the Rangers telling Young he would not be traded.

Been a bad week for Scott Boras' efforts to drum up a market for his man, Beltre, beyond Anaheim.

A California native who is building a home in Southern California, Lee (who cleared waivers in order to make the trade possible) clearly saw the Braves (2 1/2 games up in the N.L. East) as a team that gives him a chance at the post-season. And the Angels? Not so much.